a dream come true...gold!

my nephew, A. Huracan










some sassy dudes












owl pals

past and present tense in the same sentence

los angeles, san francisco, san jose, berkeley, oakland

drottningsgatan

cross posted from my other blog:

so i've settled in Los Angeles pretty well again, working at the bookstore of a big art museum here. i like working there since i get to be around so many international people (visitors, visiting scholars, curators, etc.), but today, my day of days was made when this evening in the bookstore i was greeted by the sight of the entourage belonging to Queen Silvia of Sweden.



oh yes. oh yes. anyone who's talked to me since i've returned from my travels knows of my extremely nerdy love for all things Scandinavian, specifically Swedish.

unfortunately, i didn't get say anything to her because in my excitement:

1.) i couldn't decide on the appropriate way to address a royal person, i.e. "your highness" (?)

2.)i couldn't decide if that would be too crass/nerdy/embarrassing of me

friends, when i saw H.M. Drottning Silvia standing about 6 feet from me in a perfectly tailored white skirt and jacket, i got kind of teary eyed.

because the Queen of Sweden was at my job and it was awesome. YES!

L.A. pride

today i made my first purchase proudly honoring my current home-town, Los Angeles. from now on, as i sit in L.A.'s hellish traffic on my commute to/from work, i'll enjoy my hot drink, taking in the sea of cars and crazy palm trees next to the freeway, and chuckle fondly, "oh, you!"



i actually went to the Coroner's office to buy this. they have an amazing gift shop.

through ev’ry land by ev’ry tongue

this Saturday i attended day one of the All-California Sacred Harp Singing Convention. folks from all over the country - Vermont, Rhode Island, Illinois, Alabama, New Mexico, etc. - were there to sing together in a wooden building at Angel's Gate park by the sea.


within minutes of arrival, i ran into two guys from my alma mater art department, CalArts. they were representing Val Verde, California/New York.











i didn't take as many photos as i would've liked or from varying angles as i hardly left my seat during the entire thing (other than breaks)




gent from Birmingham










sometimes i find i have trouble explaining what exactly Sacred Harp sounds like or feels like; i think this is a good example...

all too soon, it was time to return to the center of the city

and later, north to the orange groves and the perpetual twilight mountains.

älskar

this afternoon, i came home from a windy afteroon of running errands only to find this amazing box on the doorstep:



a package, possibly the best ever i have ever received, from Jonas Paulsson of Umeå, Sweden










CONTENTS:

-1 package of Leksands Knäckerbröd, Swedish cracker-bread
-1 bottle of Lättvinsglög Christmas mulled wine
-2 tins of snus, Lucky Strike and Göteborgs Rapé brands
-1 box Zoegas Skånerost Brygg coffee
-8 bags of Haribo gummy/vingummi candy
-1 bag Ahlgrens Bilar candy (shaped like little cars)
-1 bag Malaco Godt & Blandat vingummi
-4 bars Marabou chocolate of varying milky-ness and darkness
-3 bars of Cloetta Kex Choklad!!!
-1 Martin Kellermans "Rocky" zine

thank you thank you thank you to Jonas, the raddest post-office employee in all of Norbotten!!!

new year's resolutions

1. learn Swedish well enough to pass the Swedish language test
2. figuring student loans so as to not pay one cent more than i absolutely have to
3. take advantage of free gym at my work actually called the "spa getty"
4. keep traveling